A friend in a Dutch museum of maritime archeological materials has had good luck in baking all metal objects at low heat to drive water out, and to stop the continuation of rust. nburlakoff -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Mark Janzen Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 10:12 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: rusty tools Janet, No self-respecting logger would ever have allowed the tools of their trade, their very livelihood, to get rusty. They required constant maintenance and careful care, under often extreme circumstances. Their current state is certainly not your fault, but it should be rectified. There should be no rusty tools in a logging exhibition. The central issue is that they should be clean before you coat them with anything. As anti-museum practice as this may sound, if they are rusty then they need to be carefully cleaned and oiled. Covering them up with wax is going to make the situation much worse. They do not need to be polished or anything, and great care should be taken if there are any marks or distinguishing features, which would surprise me in field tools. If the exhibition space in question is not fully climate controlled, or maintained at a humidity level intended to prevent corrosion in metals, this will also help with further outbreaks. You will have to repeat the oiling once every couple months during the exhibition. I would suggest not simply diving into such a project without direction. A conservator's advice would be valuable, but I suspect they will tell you the same thing. Most will give the advice for free, they just will not do the work for free. Good cleaning info/instructions can be found at this website: http://www.preservation.gc.ca/howto/articles/iron-objects_e.asp, and the CCI Notes N9/6, which they cite, can be purchased($1.25) at the bookstore here: http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/main_e.shtml. That should solve the problem and improve the appearance and stability of your objects on exhibit. Mark Janzen Registrar/Collections Manager Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection Wichita State University (316)978-5850 Janet Geronime <jgeronime@DIRECW AY.COM> To Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask] discussion list cc <[log in to unmask] SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject rusty tools 01/06/2004 09:49 PM Please respond to Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask] SE.LSOFT.COM> We are preparing an exhibit of logging tools and some of them are rusty. One volunteer (we are all volunteers) suggested using Renaissance Wax (from Light Impressions catalog). Would that be appropriate or is there something better to use? Janet Geronime NorthernWaters Museum ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).